To the Editor:
Re “My Plan to Safely Reopen America,” by Joe Biden (Op-Ed, April 13):
In broad and very general language, Mr. Biden calls for the usual, safe things we all acknowledge are needed in dealing with the pandemic now and in its waning days. He calls for more supplies, an effective vaccine, more hospital staffing.
What is missing here is how he will address our failing health care system, which remains disastrously tied to job status as millions of people are leaving the work force.
People on unemployment insurance are unlikely to part with their money for a health plan sponsored through the Affordable Care Act that will start covering them only after they have paid thousands of dollars in deductible expenses.
Covid-19 has provided us with a critical decision point regarding how we as a nation will take care of all citizens without delivering them to bankruptcy court. We cannot afford to squander this rare opportunity to begin the admittedly challenging task of moving to Medicare for All.
Karen L. Hoover
Brattleboro, Vt.
The writer is a retired internist.
To the Editor:
Could we have any more of a “Monday morning quarterback” view than that demonstrated by Joe Biden? Are you kidding me? I am sure I speak for many when I say I am tired of the blame game. Of course our government has made some errors in the handling of the virus response. We can always do better. Hindsight is 20/20.
Mr. Biden offers a new seating chart at restaurants and masks for delivery people? Really? That and criticism for the administration? How about some real ideas, Joe? As a small-business owner who has laid off one third of our staff, we need real ideas, not just the 20/20 view.
Scott Duroe
Olathe, Kan.
To the Editor:
How clear, how calm, and how refreshing! What a relief to hear the voice of reason and such a contrast to what’s coming from the White House. This is what leadership looks like. Thank you, Joe.
Victoria Sutton
Andover, Mass.
To the Editor:
Joe Biden is offering more of the same half measures that have shut down our economy and are prolonging our economic and psychological agony. More social distancing and more testing will just continue to slow the spread of the virus and leave us vulnerable to a second wave of infections when the economy reopens.
The only way that’s guaranteed to allow us to quickly reopen the economy without risk is to make self-testing widely available for Americans (for the virus, not the antibodies) and then to have the carriers self-isolate. This would allow the uninfected Americans, perhaps 300 million people, who are currently imprisoned in their homes to return to work and school immediately.
We have the capacity to develop the tools we need to test everyone in a matter of weeks at low cost, and if we had used this approach weeks ago, we would not have had to shut down the economy in the first place.
Robert Epstein
Vista, Calif.
The writer is senior research psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology and former editor in chief of Psychology Today.
To the Editor:
Joe Biden’s plan to open up the economy is a generalized mix of (accurately) blaming President Trump for our plight and broad suggestions for recovery without ideas for specific action.
Contrast Mr. Biden’s plan with Senator Elizabeth Warren’s published last week (“What Congress Must Do Now,” Op-Ed, April 9). It includes specific actions for Congress to take now, bills she has signed on to, and a vision that addresses our immediate needs for testing, equipment and vaccine development. She identifies the underlying social, health and economic structures that have brought us here.
I supported Ms. Warren for president. Like most Democrats and many others, I will vote for Mr. Biden in November, but I will feel more secure with a levelheaded woman of action beside him — Elizabeth Warren. Her attention to detail is what we need most.
Christine C. Pagano
Oakland, Calif.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
